Thistles

Need Help Again, I am going to plant Peas next year. I have a hay field with alot of alfalfa, this I will spray with Roundup. The other side had Oats, the worst crop I have ever seen. Weeds! Again I will use Roundup, but this field has Thistle. What could I use with the Roundup to get control of the Thistle?It is not all over but has spots. Thanks in advance Adrian
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Roundup will kill anything green and growing, including thistles. If your plants have matured then I think you're out of luck.If I remember right, 2,4-D will also kill thistles.

Canadian thistles? They are bad news for peas, buds mature about the time as peas do & reject the field for the contamination.....

Roundup will kill them, but takes 2 applications, and you want lots of sticky in it - add extra stuff that makes the chemical stick to the plant. Don't go thin, you want a lot of RU.

Won't look like it is doing much, thistles will just sit there. The chemical has to travel down through all that root mass, and starts killing the plant from the bottom up. Might not look like it did anything for 2 weeks, but - they will get crispy. Do not till them or work the ground, let the chemical work!

24D or dicomba (Banvel, etc.) will hurt thistles, but they have a hard time killing them - just wound them for a season.

Stinger, Tordon, & other specialty sprays will go after thistle & not hurt grasses, but these are spendy, you are much better off with a good dose of glyphosate (Roundup) for what you are doing.

Thistles are hard to kill in spring when the sap is running up from the root mass. They are one of the few plants that are easier to kill in fall after blooming, when the sap is now running back down to replentish the root mass.

There isn't anything that will clear a field of thistles in one application, those big deep root masses are tough, you will need to repeat when you see more growing. Don't know if you have time to spray in spring before the peas, they tend to go it very early?

More RU this first time will help, go over the patches 2x, look at the lable you can use up to 3 quarts per acre, commonly we use 1 quart for general use. Don't be cheap on those patches, and use an extra sticky, even if they say it's not needed.

It is _so_ nice once those patches are gone, much easier to control the new small growth of thistle once those big old patches are gone. Do it right this time, and life will be more fun.

--->Paul

I AM GUESSING THE OATS ARE OFF ALREADY?,2 LATE NOW BUT OLD WIVES TALE THAT HAS WORKED ON OUR PASTURE IS TO CUT THISTLE THE LAST 4 DAYS OF THE NEW MOON IN JULY, DO NOT LET THEM BLOSSOM AS EVEN IF CUT THEY WILL MAKE SEEDS THEN YOU SOL;
IF THE OATS ARE OFF AND U HAVE NEW REGROWTH HIT WITH STINGER WHEN THE SET ROSETS, NOTE I AM NOT SHURE HOW MANY MOUNTHS B-4 CAN PLANT PEAS AFTER STINGER I DO KNOW ITS SOMETHING LIKE 18 MNTHS B-4 YOU CAN PLANT SOYBEANS, STINGER PRICY LIKE $140 A PINT BUT THE RATE IS LOW AND SPOT SPRAYING THE PATCHES MIGHT NOT BE TO BADD CONCIDERRING THE ALT, TILLIAGE WILL ONLY SPREAD THEM UNLESS THE R DEAD DEAD, BAYER CROP SCIENCE USED TO MAKE A PRODUCT ALSO BUT DONT KNOW WHAT ITS CALLED NOR EVER USED IT, OR TRY KEEPING CLIPED B-4 IT FLOWERS AND HIT IT HARD WITH ROUND UP BOUT OCT WHEN THEY R STORING NUTIENTS 4 WINTER , WILL TRANSVERS TO THE ROOTS MUCH FASTER ?MY 2 CENTS

If we are talking Canadian thistle Milestone with a surfactant will do the job if you get plenty on the green and not on the rosettes. A little spendy but almost a specific for Canadian thistle. I tank mix it with Brash but if thistle is your only problem should work without the Brash

Your mileage may vary